senator john mccain wrote the pentagon, calling it one of the most egregious examples of mismanagement in recent memory. >> $1 billion has been basically totally wasted, with nothing to show for it. >> reporter: just flushed down the drain. >> flushed down the drain. >> reporter: you know, a lot of americans remember that infamous $600 toilet set. is this even worse than that? >> i don't mean to make a joke, but at least they got a toilet seat. out of this, they got nothing. we got nothing. >> reporter: so what went wrong? >> you had a company that wasn't up to the task of managing the project. you had a computer system that wasn't actually able to do the job. and you had an air force that was asleep at the switch. >> reporter: a top executive for the lead contractor, computer science's corporation or csc, told nbc news that it provided the air force with capabilities and assets to deliver the system of the future, and that taxpayers got their money's worth. an air force official sees it differently. >> i'm personally appalled at the limited capabilities that program has produced. >> r